Had a taste of authentic Lambic and then an interesting thing happened.

[Chadwick]

So I went out and bought an authentic Lambic. It was a Gueuze lambic beer, Cuvee Rene. I have never had a sour beer before and I wanted one without any fruit or additions to get a sense of the basic flavor. I simply bought a single bottle.

I open this bottle up and pour about a 1/4 of it into a glass. I smell it, I taste it.

My impression: Pure vomit

Hey, don't hate on me! That's what I get from it. It smells like vomit, it tastes like vomit.

But here is something interesting. Another family member tasted it and didn't taste vomit. They tasted complex fruit, flowers, and "the most delicious thing I've ever had". I asked them about vomit. Nope, they didn't get that. I asked them about the smell of vomit. Nope, they didn't get that. My mind is blown.

So the scientist in me starts thinking. Is the taste of lambic beer and the enjoyment of lambic genetically linked to some sort of trait? Could it be that to truly love a lambic that you need to have certain genes switched in the "on" position?

It's just a hypothesis at this point. But I really feel some research needs to be done.

 

[Bearfoot]

Due to person-to-person variance in the size, density and location of taste receptors, as well as minor differences in the way these tastes are perceived neurologically, it is very common to get a different 'taste' than someone else. Also, these receptors have a tendency to change/breakdown over time leading to further gaps in perception.

The 'vomit' flavor you are tasting is due to the presence of butyric acid, a natural byproduct of fermentation, and actually it's a pretty common descriptor for the Cuvee Renne.

But no need to worry. I drink beer that smells like baby diapers to some folks.

 

[day_trippr]

[...]But no need to worry. I drink beer that smells like baby diapers to some folks.

New - or used?

Cheers!

 

[Beernik]

The thing I try to remind myself when I start getting really negative on cat piss Simcoe hopped beers is that I like sweaty ropy horse blankets in a barnyard beers.

 

[Brewmenn]

So the scientist in me starts thinking. Is the taste of lambic beer and the enjoyment of lambic genetically linked to some sort of trait? Could it be that to truly love a lambic that you need to have certain genes switched in the "on" position?

It's just a hypothesis at this point. But I really feel some research needs to be done.

Probably something like that, but I would state it the other way around, i.e. that some people have the "lambic tastes like vomit" gene switched to "on".

 

[mb82]

The "Lambic tastes good" gene must be recessive. Both of my parents think they taste well like vomit. Me I like most of them. I wonder since there are some I don't like if it is a combination of genes giving different degrees of vomit?

 

[deadfall]

I've tasted the vomit taste before. It was in a heavy seas peg leg imperial stout. I tried ageing it and that didn't help. I ended up giving it away. I'd ask them "how's that stout" and they would say "great". All I could think was it tasted like vomit.

 

[Bearfoot]

Actually has nothing to do with genes. All taste buds are structured exactly the same...it comes down to a person to person variance in the way the taste receptors are grouped and the way our daily experience changes / breaks them down over time, which is basically a crap-shoot. The biggest difference is the amount of taste receptors, which are generally higher in children and decrease in life allowing adults to 'acquire' tastes that were previously not agreeable.

Fortunately, we can manipulate our brains into different modes of perception. In other words, we can train ourselves to appreciate a certain flavor, taste, or sensation, even when it was initially repulsive. The science of taste is far more neurological than anything else, from my own understanding.

 

[ktblunden]

I sour mashed a saison that smelled remarkably like vomit when I went to boil. The flavor is good and everyone who has tried it likes it a lot, but I can still identify a vomit-esque aroma in the finished beer. I love lambics and other sours, though, and I've never encountered that aroma or flavor in anything else.

 

[progmac]

ever since i tasted a sample of beer (okay it was my beer) that was identified as having butyric acid while someone described the flavor to me, i now taste it a lot...like in a lot of beers that shouldn't have it. and yes, it tastes like vomit.

 

[Warthaug]

Actually has nothing to do with genes. All taste buds are structured exactly the same...it comes down to a person to person variance in the way the taste receptors are grouped and the way our daily experience changes / breaks them down over time

This is getting OT, but the above is simply wrong. Taste and smell receptors fall into two classes (ion channels versus g-protein coupled receptors), but within each group are dozens of receptors. There are ~60 taste-specific receptors, and an additional ~900! that serve dual-purpose taste/smell functions. These genes are among the most highly polymorphic of human genes (fancy way of saying there are all sorts of variants of these genes floating around the human population). A large number of differences in the ability to taste (& smell) specific compounds have been linked to polymorphisms (mutations) in these genes.

Bryan

 

[Homercidal]

I agree. Lambic tastes like vomit.

I do like a nice barnyard beer, as long as it isn't too tart, which for me is practically zero.

 

[POAS]

So if papaya tastes like vomit to you, would a lambic also taste like vomit? Just asking because papaya tastes and smells like vomit to me, but not to other members of my family. I've never had a lambic and don't really want to try one if I'm going to get the same taste as a papaya. Do they both have the same chemical compounds that give the same smell/taste?

 

[Durandal]

I know little about sour beers, but I do know that lots of things that tasted awful as a snot nosed kid who thought he knew everything (including beer in general) are now the things I like most. Seems like one of the keys to enjoying life is knowing more about it.

 

[Chadwick]

I agree. Lambic tastes like vomit.

I do like a nice barnyard beer, as long as it isn't too tart, which for me is practically zero.

Ah, the barnyard beer. You mean a brett beer? I went looking for a brett beer, didn't find any. I suppose it would help if I knew exactly what I was looking for. Name, brand, etc. I would love to taste a brett beer to see if it is something I would like to explore in my home brewing.

 

[Zamial]

Sour beers are much like IPAs in that there typically is an acquired taste. I would probably not have recommended the Cuvee as a 1st sour. I would recommend Monk's Cafe or anything by Liefman's.

 

[Beernik]

Every time this thread pops up, I think of one of the joke youtube videos on beer reviewing where the guy says, "This is horribly infected. Unless it's a lambic. Then it's awesome."

 

[Homercidal]

Ah, the barnyard beer. You mean a brett beer? I went looking for a brett beer, didn't find any. I suppose it would help if I knew exactly what I was looking for. Name, brand, etc. I would love to taste a brett beer to see if it is something I would like to explore in my home brewing.

The headbrewer at New Holland gave a presentation on water at a Homebrewers seminar a few years back and he brought some stuff from their "Basement". Unlabeled in 22 ouncers with cork and cage.

He mentioned Brett and barnyard, and it was my first experience. It was interesting and I finished my friend's sample when he didn't like it.

Then I tried Lambic at the Michigan Brewers Guild's Winter Beer Festival the first year it was at Fifth Third Ballpark. Nearly gagged and puked.

The next vendor felt pity for me and rinsed my glass out and poured a nice IIPA quickly to wash that nasty taste out of my mouth.

 

[Beernik]

Epic Brewing's Elder Brett has barnyard funk and no sour.

 

[b-boy]

I've had a few sours I've really enjoyed and a few I've hated. For me, the more 'vinegary' it tastes, the better I like it.

Overall, I think that people are hard-wired for certain tastes. Whether it's genetic or not, I can't say, but it wouldn't surprise me.

I think the sours theory also applies to Belgians. You either love them or you hate them. I have a visceral reaction to them. It's not even a taste as much as a feeling I get in the back of my throat when I drink one. I've tried, but I can't get over it.